Hermes Investment Management (Hermes), the £30.8 billion manager, today published its Modern Slavery Statement in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (The Act). At Hermes, we are committed to being a responsible business and endeavour to uphold high ethical principles and to respect human rights.

We have used the requirements introduced by The Act as an opportunity to review the way in which we operate our own business, together with the way in which we interact with others, including our clients and suppliers. Moreover, we have also considered the area where we have the ability to make the most impact – our investments. Our objective is to ensure that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in any of our business dealings.

Hermes already has a number of policies and procedures in place in an effort to ensure we act as a transparent, responsible and ethical business. These policies and procedures also support our efforts to address the risks of engaging in modern slavery and human trafficking. In response to The Act, and to ensure transparency, we have established a Supplier Code of Conduct, which we will encourage our suppliers to sign.

Saker Nusseibeh, Chief Executive, Hermes Investment Management: “Hermes is strongly opposed to slavery and human trafficking. As a responsible business, we are focussed on helping people invest better, retire better and create a better society for all. Our activities will have impacts on the world in which our beneficiaries live and work today, as well as the one in which they will retire into tomorrow. The establishment of our Modern Slavery Statement and a Supplier Code of Conduct demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that there is no slavery or human trafficking in any of our business dealings.”